The study explores the care of elderly church officials changed in Reformed Church District of Tiszáninnen (Cistibiscana) in the first half of the nineteenth century. What began as a situation of incapacity and hardship quickly gave way to the institutionalization of stable and broad social support for elderly members of the reformed clergy relatively fast. Although poverty among the ministers could not be eliminated entirely, the establishment of Hungary’s first relatively secure pension fund and a corresponding system of benefits for ministers took place in this region. These measures played a key role in advancing both the ecclesiastical and, not least, the teaching professions.

Focusing on the occupations of the academicians, this study defines the groupspecific characteristics of the members of the Hungarian Scientific Society (later the Hungarian Academy of Sciences), selected during its early years, between 1830 and 1847. The 236 academics are classified into 370 occupations and means of livelihood – this large number in itself indicative of the absence of a stable occupational structure in the early days of the rise of the middle classes. The second half of the study looks in more detail at those academicians who held pastoral or teaching positions. It reveals the overwhelming majority of Calvinist teachers – among both teachers in general and in the protestant academic community. In comparison, the low number of Lutheran teachers made them the polar opposite group: they were insufficient in number to represent even their centuries-old tradition of school towns within the learned society. There was a clear over-representation of Roman Catholics among the clergy, particularly of those associated with Szombathely, Győr (and Pannonhalma), as well as Pest and Vác as their spiritual centers. The relatively low prestige of the clerical and teaching professions is underpinned by the fact that it was considerably more difficult for representatives of these professions to climb the academic ladder: such corresponding members faced serious obstacles in becoming full members or department presidents. Another interesting finding reveals that among the academicians concerned, only Roman Catholics could effectively move between priesthood and teaching, and become a prelate. This seldom occurred among the Protestants: for them, the two professions were mutually exclusive to a much greater extent.

The question in the title refers to the possible interpretation of ecclesiastical career choices around the beginning of the nineteenth century. The study, based on the initial compilation of all the names of relevant school teachers, discusses the lives, as well as academic and professional careers of Protestant school teachers in Abaúj in the northeast of Hungary. For the majority of the recorded 470 school teachers, teaching was a transitory phase in their careers and they worked as teachers but for a few years of their lives. On one hand, however, a group of 81 teachers is highly relevant for the study: they worked as teachers as part of preparations for their ordination as clergymen. Their studies were often rather hit and miss, and their academic progress also suggests that most cases consecrated priests did not graduate from the best schools. In their case, despite employment difficulties, working as a school teacher was a step forward. Since this step forward was made possible in a limited number of primary schools of barely over a dozen settlements, the new teachers’ fate was sealed in the moment they were told which school they were appointed to. These were all schools who had not abandoned the practice of quick turnover of teachers. As the number of these schools had decreased, people opted to become priests at an increasingly young age. To use the terminology of modern education theory: selection took place earlier and consequently it also became stricter. In this context, while that certain step forward was becoming more difficult to attain, those who managed to reach it had better chances to achieve even more. On the other hand, there is another important group of about 70 individuals who provided a stable core for the contemporary teaching community. These teachers devoted their entire career to education somewhere in the parish. Their long-term teaching positions cannot confidently be viewed as a dead end or the stagnation of career in comparison with the previous group. This is corroborated by ample evidence for cases when a congregation grew attached to their teacher as much as, or even more than their pastor, which is a decidedly significant factor in the first stages of the professionalization process.

Roundabout Ways in School. Patterns of College Studies in the Nineteenth Century The study explores the patterns determining the academic careers of students studying to be pastors at the Sárospatak Reformed College in the first three decades of the nineteenth century. The main difficulty of research is that the paths to complete their courses (eight years in secondary school, eight or nine years in seminary) were significantly more varied than they are now. In addition, many students dropped out halfway through their studies. Thus the question arises whether those young people who did turn out to be pastors were the best students with the most regular academic career at the college. Evidence shows that they, in fact, were not. Looking at class registers, it is impossible to guess which student would become pastor ten or twelve years on, but those who were eventually ordained were rarely top students, but rather the mediocre, and at times the weakest of their cohort. Furthermore, the study sheds light not only on the rather hectic academic career of these students, but also reaches the conclusion that students at Sárospatak in this period did not begin to consciously prepare for their career as a pastor until the second half of their study (from the fifth year onwards).

The aim of this study is to define the dimensions of education and the employment opportunities of protestant clergymen in Northeast Hungary two hundred years ago. The first half of the education of clergymen in the diocese was provided by the Protestant Collegium of Sárospatak. Here, young men preparing to become clergymen studied for 7–10 years after their elementary and secondary education. However, the large proportion of those who left school halfway through suggests that the Theology faculty played an important role not only in the supply of clergymen, but also in that of intellectuals of a lower degree. The education of clergymen was not complete with graduating from the Collegium. Ideally, it was followed by two two-three year long periods (village teachership and peregrination). Young men eligible for ordination usually served as curates or vice-clergy. Th us, from the time of enrollment in the academy to being awarded their first independent position as long as 15–20 years may have elapsed. This served as a selection period for candidates studying in the Collegium in much larger numbers than the diocese could employ, and also to allow time for a signifi cant number of young men to find other career choices. Although prelates of the church could not fully avoid entrant unemployment with this strategy, they were able to keep it under control to some extent.